Keeping up with the press in the last 10 days has been an exercise in head shaking, if not outright head banging. Two days after the Brexit debacle, the country was already in denial, and the disaffected were calling for a repeat referendum. And a lot of them had voted for Brexit!

All of a sudden, all that the leave campaign had promised if the UK left the EU became relativized. Like the 350 million pounds that would go straight into improving the National Health system. No, sorry, they couldn’t guarantee that. Well heck, just because they wrote it on the sides of big red buses and drove them non-stop around the land, that didn’t mean it would happen.

And well heck again, maybe that’s NOT what we pay into the EU every week any way – as the remain side told everybody, but no one seemed to want to hear it. It was the gross payment, and not the net payment, which is calculated after all that Britain gets back as support for various projects and the rebates that they jealousy accrued over the decades. In the end the figure was more accurately stated as closer to the 190 million pound mark that was paid for services rendered.

Then there was the claim that Britain could, on its own terms, stay in the EU single market but without the free movement of workers, i.e. immigrants from other EU states. During the campaign EU politicians had already burst that bubble. But the leave campaign wouldn’t listen and kept promising this. On day one after the vote, I heard the only UKIP (the right-wing anti-Europe party) Member of Parliament, Douglas Carswell, holding forth to a BBC interviewer that Britain could now demand this and demand that and would get it. On which planet does this man reside? (Or what is his drug of choice?)

All sorts of other important facts, like the actual relationship of the EU to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) with Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, seem to have fallen by the wayside. That these states also pay their dues to the EU for the privilege of access to the market – without any right to participate in making the laws that regulate that trade – seems to have got lost in the rhetoric on how Britain would determine the future set-up. Doesn’t that sound like a bargain for the Brits? Just the ticket?

Then there are the Scots and the Northern Irish. The former are already looking for a date for their next independence referendum. They are devoted believers in the European project. The Irish are considering their options. Somehow reunite with the Irish Republic? Will the entire United Kingdom disintegrate over this issue?

An issue that should have never been brought to vote in a referendum?

On Saturday tens of thousands demonstrated in London to stop Brexit. London voted clearly to remain – let’s face it, of all parts of the UK, they have the most to lose – but at this demonstration, people from all over the country came to protest what was about to happen. The petition for a second referendum already has more than 4 million signatures.

Then of course, with David Cameron stepping down, the race for the next Tory (the currently ruling Conservative Party) leader got into full swing. After Theresa May (current Home Secretary and a remain supporter) and Michael Gove (Justice Minister and Brexit campaigner) announced their bids for leadership, everyone waited with bated breath for Boris Johnson to throw his hat into the leadership ring. BoJo’s speech reflected his personality, albeit somewhat subdued. He had canvassed the Parliamentary Tories and found that at this juncture, he would not be vying for the leadership post after all – and thus, he would not be the next Prime Minister. It would seem that the Parliamentary Tories – who would have to elect him – were more remain than leave. He found no support. That’s the tricky thing about power poker.

BTW, Gove, after maintaining religiously that he was not interested in the top job, basically stabbed BoJo in the back with his declaration. (New nickname: Brutus.)

This was a while after BoJo assassinated Cameron by means of a late switch to the (dark) Brexit side.

Oh yes, I must not forget to mention that the leavers seem to have been totally overwhelmed by their success and seem to have no idea of what to do next. Cameron is leaving it to his successor, sometime in the autumn, to initiate the exit process by activating Article 50 of the EU contract. But the EU wants them to start the process today.

The opposition Labour Party is also in disarray. Their leader Jeremy Corbyn, an anachronistic left-winger, is seen is a huge mistake. How fast can they get shot of him, just in case a general election winds up being called?? It’s difficult: He will not go softly into….

The campaign slogan that Brexiteers banged on about incessantly was: “Let’s get our country back!”

Well, now they’ve got it. And they have no clue what to do with it.

So dear readers, the dog’s dinner currently on the menu in Britain has been served. Enjoy your meal.

I trust this round-up gives you an idea of what’s been happening in Britain. Feel like shaking your head in disbelief? Feel like banging it against the nearest wall? I know the feeling. Sure, go ahead.

We woke up this morning to the news: The British had voted to leave the EU. Although I am not a Brit, I have been married to one for 41 years and I lived there for a few years, way back in the 70s. I feel a great connection to this country, its culture, history and people. I can’t help thinking that they have made a short-sighted and fatal decision.

After listening to David Cameron’s statement this morning, I initially felt sorry for him. He presented himself as professional and unemotional about the results, reflecting the consummate politician that he is. He announced his resignation, which seems right when losing such a vote.

My sympathy has been draining away in the hours since, as I reminded myself how unnecessary this entire circus was, that it was the product of Cameron’s wooing the EU sceptics in the ranks of the Tory party to ensure his election in 2010. So in fact, that promise has come back to deprive him of that very job.

Then there’s Boris Johnson, another talented politician, former mayor of the great city of London, who campaigned to leave with the full force of his personality. (I will refrain from making unjustified comparisons with a certain US presidential candidate – that would be wholly unfair.) As a contender for leadership of the Tory party, and thus prime ministerial candidate, he has everything to gain from the leave vote. But I wouldn’t dare suggest that his enthusiasm for Brexit stemmed from his own ambitions to higher rank.

While waiting for Boris to arrive at the venue for his statement, BBC World News showed briefly his departure in a taxi from his north London home. Surrounded by a retinue of police, a pack of news people and a crowd of London’s citizens, the sound of booing could not be overheard. After all, London was carried by the remain vote and it is London that will bear the brunt of the changes. So greetings to all those Londoners who once loved their eccentric Mayor!

To give his statement, Boris put on his most statesman-like air – not that he’d combed his trademark blond mane from his face. He does, after all, have the most to gain from the success of the leave campaign and his buddy David’s fall. He sees Britain’s exit from the EU as the opportunity to return to the country power over its own fate, to return to the democratic principles that made it into Great Britain.

I see no point in discussing all the consequences of this monumental decision. You probably are already aware of a lot of them. And there is also no doubt that the EU system is not perfect, but it must be improved for all members – not just for Britain – from within, for seen within the context of Europe’s history, it is the best thing that has ever happened to the continent.

My $ 64,000 question for Boris is: If you want Britain to rule itself democratically, how about initiating a referendum on abolishing the House of Lords? Create in its place a legislative body, elected according to proportional representation, that truly acts as a check and balance to the House of Commons. And of course, the people must be allowed to decide this. For neither House could be relied on to question the legitimacy of the present, albeit traditional, division of power, evolved over centuries. To me, it seems the next logical step.

Then there is, of course, the question of David Cameron’s successor. Today he is reckoning that the Tory Party Conference in October will choose a new leader, and consequently, a new prime minister.

NO, MR CAMERON! That may well turn into wishful thinking. An early election will have to be called! Just a shame that the Labour Party and its leader Jeremy Corbyn are not in a position to take advantage of these developments.

This vote is also a game-changer on the issue of Scottish devolution. The Scots have voted with a huge majority to stay in the EU. Who could blame them for re-initiating their referendum to leave Britain? And this time round, I would be on their side. And the EU would probably look favourably on their application to join the club. It sounds like the Northern Irish may also get the hang of this referendum thing and start their very own movement for an independent north to either join the Republic of Ireland or join the EU as an independent country.

Is the great United Kingdom set to unravel in the next few years and become the dis-United Kingdom? How exactly will the divorce proceeding between GB and the EU go? I for one am curious as to whether Britain will really benefit from this move. It may turn into a Pyrrhic victory.

After several months of silence, caused to a great extent by my inability to fathom the goings-on of our world, this blogger finally returns to cyberspace, with no solutions at all. But it is time to share my feeling of helplessness about all the current crises on our planet. Who knows, you may well also be suffering from the same syndrome and appreciate reflecting on it. Here I make a start by broaching the crisis that has Europe reeling.

It all started (or at least reached a new high) when, last summer, the floodgates opened. A rush of human beings, driven from their homes by lunatic IS jihadists or by the bombs their own governments were chucking, suddenly stood at the borders of the EU, seeking refuge and solace, seeking a safe haven from the hell their homelands had become. And it wasn’t even “just” Syrians, but also folk from Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea and many other African countries that set off on a desperate exodus by land and sea in the hope of reaching EU shores.

I needn’t recap the events since then, for you are all literate. To have missed what’s been happening, you would have needed to have been on an extended vacation on a distant planet. But just to get us on the same page, and braving the risk of oversimplifying the situation, reactions to these developments have been mixed.

As I live in Germany, one of the countries that has been more welcoming than most, I have been reading daily of the ups and downs of dealing with this human inundation. We’ve experienced the rise of certain organizations, mainly in the east of Germany, that reject this migration out of hand as a dilution of their culture and a threat to life as they know it. Is it the fear that they will have less if these people receive help?

These groups hover on the verge of fascism; at best they are populists exploiting the situation. The number of attacks on refugee housing in the form of arson has risen greatly, but not just in the east. The only reason refugees have not been killed by these attacks is that they have been carried out on still-empty locations.

Is it only a matter of time before the perpetrators become murderous enough to burn down a building full of foreign families?

The only good news – but this is a biggie – is that in many, many areas of the country, private support for refugees flourishes. Local authorities have been overwhelmed with the task at hand but are doing what they can as fast as they can. Volunteers in every city and small town (yes, also in the east), who donate their time and efforts to helping these people, have taken up the slack and extended the limited reach of government. Refugees arrive with their world and their families destroyed; the personal involvement of locals like you and me puts a human face on the help offered. When communities open their arms, then there is hope.

MEANWHILE…

Russia joined the fray in September, unfortunately on the side of Bashar al Assad, and this has proven to be a game-changer. The bombing sanctioned by our dear and erstwhile best new friend, President Vladimir Putin, has augmented the torrent of migration to Europe. I can just see this character sitting in his office, rubbing his hands with glee at the chaos he has caused within the European Union.

And that Union is being sorely tested in its unity by this Völkerwanderung. With several former Soviet satellite states reacting with xenophobic zeal and NIMBY mentally, I can only guess that their exposure to the West has not yet been sufficient. That said, there are enough states in Western Europe that are not exactly opening their arms to the needy!

After World War II when Germany lay in ruins, 14 million German refugees from formerly German territories in the east inundated what was left of the country. Those in the west who had survived the war with their houses intact were forced to take refugees into their own homes, and that was the situation for years until more housing was built and people found work. This was not necessarily done cheerfully, according to local stories I’ve heard, but somehow the country was rebuilt, and by the 1950s, Germany found itself in the midst of an unprecedented economic wonder that is the foundation of today’s affluence.

The challenge now facing Germany – and any other European nation that takes up the refugee gauntlet – is far easier in some ways than it was in 1945. Even the least economically successful EU countries are in rather better shape than in the aftermath of WWII. Demographic concerns about ageing populations are actually eased by the prospects of an influx of young workers who could be trained and soon be paying into the social security coffers to pay the pensions of us oldies.

On the downside, these people come with cultures, languages and religious traditions foreign to most of us.

Is this a risk to society as we know it? YES. We are, indeed, at risk of expanding our horizons, of seeing beyond our own borders, of enriching our society with a fresh injection of vitamin C(ulture).
And those migrants? They, too, will have to learn our languages, learn about our customs and our religious traditions; they will have to accept the role of women in modern western society. Above all, BOTH SIDES will have to learn to live and let live, to respect each other’s differences, to even rejoice in the recognition that we are not all alike.

By the way, I obviously have a migration background, too. After 40 years in Germany, I still feel just a tick more comfortable speaking and writing in English, not to mention watching Hollywood and Brit movies in the original. We have plenty of German friends, but we also have a circle of English-speaking friends with whom we enjoy cavorting.

In other words, we shouldn’t expect newbies from wherever to renounce their heritage and forsake their customs. We should strive for a kind of integration that will build communities across the boundaries of nationalities and religion, integration that will tear down walls and build bridges. (Ah, bridges, a favorite theme of mine.)

Now it’s in Oregon, the next massacre of innocents – young college students with their lives ahead of them, slaughtered by a crazy person with a gun.

I watched President Obama on the news last night, making his statement on this episode in a never-ending saga. His tone of quiet indignation and frustration was spot-on. No other advanced nation on this planet allows such carnage, such insanity.

At the root of this problem is paranoia, mental illness armed to the teeth with modern weaponry. And no one is doing anything about it.

How can members of Congress and Senators – of both parties – sleep at night? When will they finally put a stop to it? When will it end?

On 23 of April Angeline Davies and the group she was with reached the Everest Base Camp and celebrated their achievement. The Base Camp is at 5,364 meters; getting that far is not a walk in the park. The next day they started their descent. In my post from 21st September, Angeline describes how they were caught by the earthquake on 25th April. Her tale continues…

How quickly did aid come and who came to help?

When you are in such a remote place, where there are no cars or trains, hardly any means of communication, no one is going to come to help you. As I said, we didn’t realise how bad the quake had affected Nepal and the area. We had no idea that thousands had died in Kathmandu, no idea that we had missed the avalanche at Base Camp by one day. We just kept walking. The weather was horrible: frozen rain, mixed with snow, low-lying fog….it wasn’t until we caught up with our porters, usually miles in front of us, and discovered that they had heard that Khumjung was destroyed, so they weren’t sure whether to keep heading there. That was the first time (and actually the only time) that I completely lost it.
I was looking forward to seeing my friend, and here I was being told that the village he was waiting for us in was flattened. I started to run, and cry, but the altitude doesn’t let you run for long, and my hiccoughs turned into panicked hyperventilation. Incredible that I had been carrying around a comprehensive first aid kit full of all sorts of wonderful drugs, that I had been sharing (people pick up all sorts of minor ailments in the Khumbu valley, so it is good to be prepared) and I forgot that I was carrying tranquilizers for myself!
Thank goodness the reports about Khumjung were totally wrong. The guest house was warm, welcoming, my friend was there waiting, and there was even internet so we could let our family know we were safe. Via Facebook mainly, we found out a lot of information. The UN, the UK Foreign Office told us to stay put if we were in a safe place. There were no cliffs or big rocks above us, threatening to come down on our heads in the next aftershock, there was food and water. We were safe.
However, the next day most of our group wanted to keep going towards Lukla, against all advice. There was no way of knowing if the trail was safe, the weather was still bad, and anyway there were no flights out of Lukla, which indeed filled up with misguided hikers, trying to get out as quickly as possible, and fighting over hotel rooms and bottles of water. There were no flights out of Kathmandu either, and since that huge city had the highest casualty rate, and damaged buildings ready to fall at any time, I was at a loss to see why everyone was trying to get there. But they all pushed on, taking the guides with them, leaving myself and my friend, two porters and another friend who had become too sick to continue travelling. Indeed, I was hugely concerned about this chap, who was getting weaker and weaker. But the next day, just after the huge aftershock, a helicopter landed in the village square, and took him away. So then we were two….
Ang Tsherring Sherpa, owner of the Hill Top View guest house in Khumjung, and all his family made us feel part of their family. I guess sharing in a disaster like that does bring people together. His house was severely damaged at one end, crumbling down the hill (it has since completely collapsed). Their family shrine was in a room at the worst part, and we helped dismantle the beautifully hand-painted shrine, carry boxes of prayers and offerings to safety.
On a side note about who helped us: the Nepalese did. The UK government didn’t. I’m still rather angry about this. Why is it that a population who has just lost their house, their livestock, their living, and in many cases, their loved ones (our neighbour in Khumjung lost her husband at Base Camp; the lady who looked after me when I was ill died in the second earthquake that had its epicentre at Khumjung/Namche) selflessly helped us foreigners, fed us, made us tea, nursed us (I fell ill with the same debilitating flu as my friend), guided us, when they should have been looking after themselves and their loved ones. Our porters stayed with us, when they didn’t even know how their own families and houses were.
What we lacked was information. (Incredibly our best source was via our friends back home, mainly through Facebook! We all had our iPhones, and the internet connection, though intermittent, saved us!) I was lucky and I was safe. I didn’t need rescuing, so I was not a priority, I understand that, however, I emailed, phoned, texted the UK embassy and Foreign Office, and to this day have not heard anything. When we finally made it to Lukla, there were NZ and Australian government representatives, and Kathmandu airport had representatives from every country you can think of….except the UK! Rant over.

How did you get to safety? Was there, in fact, any safe place to go?
I guess nowhere was really safe. There was a prefab building at the guest house in Khumjung, constructed of just chipboard, so freezing cold, but not likely to do any damage if it collapsed. After a week we decided to carry on. We knew through the porters that the trail was now safer (though the accommodation in our first overnight stop in Phakding probably wouldn’t have stayed up if we had slammed a door). Both of us were still quite ill, so the hike back to Lukla was the toughest few days of the whole trip, tougher than making it to Khala Pathar (5,640 meters). But, despite walking through devastated villages, past shocked and terrified people, abandoned homes, some with livestock wandering in at the broken front door, the countryside was still absolutely beautiful, and the weather had improved. I guess so had our mood too, since we knew we were closer to getting home. This is a sort of guilt I bear. We could go home, leave all the suffering behind. The Nepalese were stuck there. And the aftershocks just kept coming. Even now more than 4 months later.

Another memory which sticks in my mind was seeing a man trying to mend a roof, and dropping the sheet of corrugated iron from the ladder. On hearing this, his wife thought it was another aftershock and ran screaming out of her shelter with her children in her arms.
When we arrived at Lukla, we met up with one of our guides, whose brother worked at the airport. After only half a day of hanging around the airport, they managed to get us onto a flight. The flight to Lukla from Kathmandu is supposed to be the scariest in the world, but, I must say, I really enjoyed it. We lucked out in Kathmandu. The hotel (where we had left bags that we didn’t need on the hike) was too dangerous, so we stayed in the glorious guest house belonging to the expedition organiser. We ate with the family – again, such kindness!

How soon were you able to get word to your family that you were safe?
Luckily when we got to Khumjung, I could send a text to my parents. It would only let me send 3 words (I am OK), but that was enough! Unfortunately after the aftershock of the next day, the communications were knocked out, so my parents were more worried that time. I guess the media in the West covered it very extensively. My friend at home heard from my parents that I was all right, and posted this on Facebook. So with the words I am OK and just one post on Facebook, everyone knew I was fine!

How far did you make it up Mt. Everest? After this experience would you go there again?
If I could afford it, I would go back tomorrow, but instead, I am raising money from here for those who helped us and for the hospital in Khunde. I got to base camp and up Khala Pathar (5640m), which were my goals. The locals say that Sagamatha (Everest) is angry and doesn’t want to be climbed. It certainly seems that way at the moment. In my heart I know that I wouldn’t reach the summit, though I would love to try.
Yes I would go back. The scenery was some of the most stunning in the world (and I live in Switzerland, so very similar!), but the people were amazing. I want to go back to see the friends I made, bring toys to the children, and most of all bring business to the people. Donating money is great, but these people want to work. The earthquake has been no great advert for Nepalese tourism, and now the monsoons are over, and the new climbing season starts, they are desperate for tourism to pick up again.

Why have you started your own fund to help in Nepal? What will the donations be used for specifically?
I am setting up this fund specifically to help the people and families who helped me during the earthquakes. Many of them are living outside in cold and wet weather, with difficult access to food supplies.

The money I raise will go directly to these families to help them rebuild, pay porters to bring supplies and food over the ruined paths. and to help their neighbours, too, in rebuilding their communities. I would also like to donate to the Himalayan Trust to rebuild Khunde hospital since now Khumjung and Khunde have no medical care.

Sherpa Ang Tshering and family looked after me for nearly a week after the first earthquake. Since the second earthquake, the house that had deep cracks when I left is now too unsafe to enter. His mother-in-law passed away, and their only cow was injured by falling bricks. The path to Khumjung is partly destroyed and dangerous, and he writes me that the porters refuse to journey there, leaving them without food supplies.
Homraj our porter lives in Phakding with his wife, his livewire of a son, 3-year- old Lucky Suman, and a large extended family. His house is a tiny wooden structure with cracks you can see through, insulated by newspaper.
Suman is an 18-year-old porter, married with a 7-month-old daughter. Since the earthquake, the tourists are no longer coming, so there is no work.

One of our guides Bibek, and our porters Bivek, Bigas, Bishal, Amik and Mon Ku Mari are all suffering from lack of shelter, food and no possibility of work.
Angeline: Who are they? and who is he?

Mahendra Simkhada, our guide has family in the Ghorka region that was hit hard too. His home in Kathmandu is unsafe to enter, but he has been helping to coordinate the aid effort and bringing aid himself to his village in Ghorka.

Rajan Simkhada, owner of Earthbound Expeditions, is based in Kathmandu and has set up his own charity that has already brought shelter, food and relief to many remote villages, with the hope of constructing earthquake resistant housing in the future.
There are many stories like these. I decided to concentrate on a disaster I can relate to with my own experience, having lived through it, and being able to feel on a personal level the pain the people are going through. The lady who looked after me in her own, crumbling home, when I was sick, died in the second earthquake; the hospital where I was treated collapsed totally later…..these are real, personal experiences, and if I can’t solve the entire world’s problems, I can at least focus on one, and maybe make a small difference.

Thank you, Angeline, for sharing your harrowing experience with us. To my readers, we’d appreciate support for the Nepalese. You can be sure that all donations to Angeline’s fund will go straight to them.

As an addendum to Angeline’s story, she had an ebook reader with her on her ascent. I was touched to hear that during this extremely stressful time, she read my novel, The Peace Bridge. She told me how much she enjoyed it. It helped distract her from the danger and uncertainty of waiting to get a flight out of Kathmandu. So The Peace Bridge made it to the heights of the Mount Everest Base Camp, survived an earthquake with Angeline and made it back home safely.